Our US correspondents James Matthews and Martha Kelner discussed the upcoming House vote on the Epstein files on today’s episode of the Trump 100 podcast.
It looks “pretty inevitable” now that the bill will pass the House, Kelner said.
This is in part because Donald Trump “has done an almighty flip-flop”, as Kelner explained.
Trump, as presidential candidate, wanted to publish all files on Jeffrey Epstein in full and campaigned on it, she said.
But Trump, the president, took a different view and blocked the release of the files once he was in the White House.
This infuriated the MAGA movement, his support base, Kelner said.
Listen to the full episode here:
Many of them had pushed for the files’ release as they suspected them to contain incriminating evidence of the involvement of centrist and leftist figures in Epstein’s crimes.
“They were even less happy last week when his administration pressured Republicans not to back the petition for release,” Kelner added.
On Sunday, however, Trump said he wanted Republicans to vote for the bill.
Kelner wondered whether the U-turn was because “it’s become clear to him that he was facing defeat on this”.
‘Most serious challenge’
She called it his “most serious challenge he’s faced from his party since his inauguration”.
She also noted that the president’s notably tired appearance during yesterday’s Oval Office meeting with Gianni Infantino may well be linked to that.
“Perhaps this schism in his party, the crisis around the Epstein files, are taking a toll on him,” Kelner said.
But, she added, due to the president’s pivot, the vote in the House could now be “almost unanimous”.
Thomas Massie, one of the Republican initiators behind the bill, said on Sunday that more than 100 members of his party were willing to back the bill.
Still, it remains uncertain when the Senate will hold a vote, Kelner added.
Follow the link here to listen to the full Trump 100 episode on your podcast app of choice.